In a month usually dominated by Major League Baseball and the NBA playoffs, there is one weekend in April when these two sports are pushed into the background in favor of America's new favorite pastime.
It may be months before the beginning of the NFL season, but millions of sports fans were glued to ESPN last Saturday -- as they are on the third Saturday of every April -- to see where last season's NCAA football stars will begin their pro careers.
Virginia fans got to see the selection of seven Cavaliers in this year's draft, the highest number in school history. Only two schools had more players selected: perennial powerhouses Oklahoma (11) and Florida State (9).
Now wait a second, isn't this the same Virginia team that went to the MPC Computers Bowl and lost? Isn't this the same squad that fell to Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State by an average of 18 points? Something is not right with this picture.
Only one Cavalier went in the draft's first 94 picks -- but that's only because likely first-rounders Ahmad Brooks and D'Brickashaw Ferguson elected to return to Virginia for their final year. Plus, several more Cavaliers signed contracts with NFL teams early this week. Safety Marquis Weeks was signed by the Seahawks just a few hours after the draft ended Sunday. Linebackers Isiah Ekejuiba and Dennis Haley, along with safety Jermaine Hardy, signed on the dotted line with an NFL squad the next day.
That means there are 11 Cavaliers from this year's team who professional scouts took a serious interest in, 13 if you include Brooks and Ferguson.
So if Virginia had this much talent on the field, why was the squad not more successful in 2004? Where did the Cavaliers go wrong?
The answer lies in the positions that these draftees played for the Cavaliers. Of the seven players picked, there were two tight ends (Heath Miller and Patrick Estes), two defensive linemen (end Chris Canty and nose tackle Andrew Hoffman), a running back (Alvin Pearman), a linebacker (Darryl Blackstock) and an offensive lineman (guard Elton Brown). There are a few positions that are noticeably absent on this list.
No, I'm not talking about quarterback. That position is not a concern. Although it would be great if Marques Hagans were taller, he is still a talented signal caller at 5-feet-10, and any talk of moving him to another position is foolish.
Think less about throwing and more about catching. Yep, you guessed it: wide receiver.
Virginia's No. 1 wideout last season was senior Michael McGrew, but he didn't come up on anybody's draft board. Even Virginia's second best tight end was picked in the draft, but McGrew hasn't been able to attract any interest among NFL teams, even as a free agent. Considering that the Cavaliers run a West Coast offense that predominantly features short passes out of the backfield, the fact that Virginia's go-to wide receiver isn't even on the radar screen of an NFL team is not a good sign.
On the defensive side of the ball, both of Virginia's starting safeties signed contracts Monday. But neither Weeks nor Hardy were signed to play that position in the NFL. Seattle plans to use Weeks as a running back while the Arizona Cardinals intend to play Hardy as a cornerback. While it is not incredibly rare to have a player switch positions upon entry into the NFL, the fact that Weeks' and Hardy's skill at the safety position was not considered a valuable commodity by any NFL squad reveals another weak spot for Virginia.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Virginia was hurting in the secondary and the receiving corps this past season. But watching the draft picks and the free agent signings unfold for several Cavaliers makes it clearer than ever that these are areas that need to be addressed.
If anything, the NFL Draft was a reminder to Virginia fans that last year's team was a talented bunch. Considering that these players were the first to be under the tutelage of Al Groh their entire playing careers at Virginia is a good sign for the future. But Groh and his staff need to do more than just produce future NFL stars -- they need to focus on recruiting players who can step up and perform in these positions where the Cavaliers need help the most.
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